Alisse

Awesome!! Looks like a great day! I love that area :-)

Trip: Forbidden - E Ridge Direct Trip Date: 08/26/2020 Trip Report: Deb and I climbed the E Ridge Direct route on Forbidden on Wednesday. It was an absolute blast, a perfect day of climbing! We were able to get Boston Basin permits, and although sure, you can do these climbs car to car without issues, why not camp in such an amazing place if you can? Deb hadn't been up the Boston Basin trail before and I was SHOCKED at how much more defined the trail was and how much easier it was this time than last May carrying my skis up. Who woulda thought?! We got up there in a little over 2 hours and enjoyed the sunset light and drank some beers I'd packed up. No skeeters! And so little snow. In the dark, we watched as SIX headlamps slowly made their way down... wow. I stayed up to see what had happened. Turns out, nothing! "Just a lot of parties on the west ridge, traffic jams on rappels..." Dang. We got moving a bit before 7 the next day and although we brought aluminum pons and light axes, the super hard snow gave us reason for finding a more creative route around the snowfields up to the choss and notch where the route starts. It took us about an hour and a half or so to get from camp to the notch and soon we were simulclimbing on excellent rock along an amazing ridge in such an incredible place. SO FUN! I took us as direct a line as possible, over the 5.7 stuff, some awesome knife-edge type ridge walking, and then we stopped to belay the 5.8 (it was just a couple bouldery moves) final gendarme bit. It's cool that most of the little towers can be downclimbed; it's too bad there is the one mandatory short rappel. I was happy that I was able to lead everything in my approach shoes without a problem. Deb took the rack and we simuled the rest of the ridge to the summit! It took us about 4 hours from notch to summit, which was definitely on the longer side of what I expected, but fine! Summit views were of course amazing.... The East Ledges descent was not a problem at all and Deb and I were both scratching our heads about how it has such a nasty reputation. Maybe if you got seriously off route it could be scary? I guess it all depends on experience, exposure to exposure, etc. etc. but for us, it was no problem. All the raps pulled cleanly and nary a pebble fell upon us. We got back to the notch approximately 2 hours from leaving the summit. The snow was soft at this point, so we took a snowfield down, and then avoided 4th class terrain by descending further to the west and then onto slabs. On the way out, we came around a corner to see a BEAR which was super awesome. He looked young to me, maybe 1-2 years old? Cutie pie. He was startled and trotted off, then we watched him cross Morning Star Creek and then on the other side, paw some boulder off and dig around. A fantastic way to end our time in Boston Basin.... Camera came out a bit late...can you spot the bear? I enjoyed this climb much more than the West Ridge. I think I will definitely be back to repeat it. And we got it ALL TO OURSELVES! Thank you, Deb, for being a fantastic climbing partner Gear Notes: Lots of double-length slings! We brought a 60m single rope which we shortened for the simulclimbing -- I think this was actually the right choice for us, over doubling a 60m twin/half. Medium rack to keep the simuling going... but lots of horns and towers and things on the ridge, so I felt like a lot of the terrain was providing protection! Approach Notes: Up, over, up, over, up.

Glad you got up there, nice work! I loved that climb.... but you missed out on an amazing bivy! Good thinking on leaving the .75

Nice persistence!

Nice work! I've only been to Terror Basin once, but it made a big impression on me. So lovely!

Finally got out on this route yesterday (first technical rock I've been on in nearly a year, oof) and it was great! So cool to have a route like this so close to Seattle. It will only get better as more people climb it, but the lichen adds to the character for now. Looks like a lot of work was put in cleaning it up, not a whole lot of loose stuff. Fun route! Go get it!

Awesome! Looks like fun and a really cool alternative to the standard up and down.

Dorking around, I represent that! ;-)

We were wondering why it looks so different -- and like it does -- from all the others...

Thanks! I actually got some good skiing in, too, on the way home! https://turns-all-year.com/trip-reports/mt-hood-3k-domesticated-snow

Trip: South Sister - Up-Down-Swimmin' Around Trip Date: 08/05/2020 Trip Report: Tyler and I had a really fun day out on and around South Sister, full of: walking, trotting/cantering, scree pawing, scree skiing, boot skiing, serious-ass-abrasion glissading, lake swimming, shoe-emptying, and only a small amount of shivering. We went up the south side trail in good time, did the apparently-mandatory loop around the crater rim, slid down the NW side, and swim-traversed* nine lakes. Carver Lake, our last one, numbed our throats and we were very very glad it wasn't wider to cross. We got back on trail on the NE side of the mountain and looped back around to the car (distant thunderstorms with lightning provided some entertainment). A bit under 11 hours round-trip. *Depending on size of lake, air and water temperatures, and level of stoke, we fully swam across a couple of the lakes, while we swam across sizeable or not-sizeable corners of others. Photos that don't have Tyler in them: photo credit to Tyler. Also, route name: credit to Tyler. First lake, pre-summit, was fantastic! Gear Notes: Dorky running vest was pleasant to hike/run and swim in, but dry bag was essential for electronics and jackets. I opted for no poles, so gloves were great for the scree descent. "Crossover" pavement-trail running shoes actually worked well, not too much sloshy foot stuff or any hot spots. Goop was key. Ankle/baby gaiters would have been great for the scree.... Approach Notes: South side/Devil's Lake TH

How many of us have had shenanigans descending the Sherpa Glacier...I feel like it usually gets pretty rough earlier than expected. Tons of tat on all the rock islands throughout, though! And on the inside of the shrund, too! There are some key boulders in there! "Stewy warmth of our sleeping bags." Stu-y?

Because I love skiing! We decided on a hike-swim-run up the south side, down the north side, and around South Sister. Should be fantastic! Going to ski a bit on Hood though, on the way back :-)

Congratulations!!!!

I'm visiting a friend in Bend next week, and he claims he could be down to carry his splitboard for August turns if the objective is worthy. So... help! What's the raddest climb in the Bend area that would include some skiing right now? I haven't been up Jefferson or North Sister....

Loved reading your write-up, sounds like a fantastic day 🙂

Great TR!!

@tanstaafl I try to keep photos of myself out of my TRs 😉

I'm down 😎

Who cares what people wear...or if they work in tech...how genuinely kind they are is what counts! But while we're on the topic, I totally started the trend. 😎

Congrats!!!

Lovely meeting and chatting with y'all! Glad you didn't ski into any holes! ☺️

Temps were...balmy! I never put on my puffy. Snow was pretty mushy even at 2 AM. Good luck!

@sugiyama_ss Great to hear!! Sounds like a successful outing in an amazing place 😊

SOLD